Roma: No City bid for De Rossi

Roma claim negotiations with Manchester City regarding Daniele De Rossi "never really started" despite speculation lasting all summer that the midfielder would move to Eastlands.

De Rossi, 29, recently held a press conference at which he committed his future to his hometown club after a serious offer from the Premier League champions.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Roma's chief operating officer Claudio Fenucci said: "Serious talks never really started and in reality we didn't spend a lot of time listening to offers. There was no real conviction from us to do a deal as before selling him we would have thought long and hard about it.

"We heard what their offer was, but, I repeat, negotiations didn't begin. De Rossi is a different kind of player to everyone else because of his characteristics, for what he can offer us in the future."